Bathtub leveling support



July 24, 1956 J. IRONS 2,755,485

BATl-ITUB LEVELING SUPPORT Filed April 16, 1953 INVENTOR.

The present invention relates to support devices and more particularlyto an anti-sag bath tub leveling support for built-in bath tubs.

Heretofore a great deal of difiiculty has been experienced with bathtubs dropping or settling away from facing tile on the wall and leavinga crack which is not only unsightly but permits Water to pass throughand drain down the wall to ceilings below. Many devices have beendesigned to meet this problem but they either sup port the bath tube atseveral isolated points and later slip or become dislodged or they aresecured to a wall before the bath tube is set and thereafter are notadjustable to be brought into leveling of engagement to assure permancyof the support.

More often than not warping and shifting of floor joists and wallstudding causes a dislocation of bath tubs which results in cracks andstrains that ultimately require extensive repair to correct.Conventional jacks for bath tubs which extend from the floor seldomcoincide with wall studs and slip out of initial engagement with the tubedge which is being supported. Brackets secured to the wall stud do notengage the tub at advantageous points in every case and also slip orcause localized strains which damage the tub or tiling.

One of the objects of the present invention is to obviate thesedifliculties and provide an improved support which will not permit thebath tub to settle nor slip from its supported position.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedadjustable support which supports the bath tub over a substantial lengthof a free edge thereof with the weight of the bath tub carried by thesupports transmitted over a substantial length and area on the floor.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved support fora bath tub or the like which carries directly to the floor the bulk ofthe weight of a built-in bath tub present at the concealed edge thereof.

Another object of the invention is. to provide an improved permanentsupport jack for the built-in edge of a bathtub which takes a fullweight strain all along the edge without tilting, slipping or saggingeither before or after the wall is tiled around the tub.

The invention is further characterized by a multiple jack bath tubsupport arrangement which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture,quickly and easily installed and adjusted, and maintains the bath tub insupported position without developing localized strains upon anyparticular point of the bath tub or the building.

These being among the objects of the invention, other and furtherobjects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing description, the drawings related thereto and the appendedclaim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a prospective view partly in section and partly in brokenlines illustrating the structural arrangement of the preferred form ofthe invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken vertically at one of the turnbucklejacks shown in Fig. 1.

nited States Patent Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of an element employed tohold the angle iron member against the wall studding in the embodimentillustrated inFig. 1.

Considering the drawings in further detail, a conventional bath tub ofthe built-in type is shown at 10 having an apron 11 along one sidethereof with a weight bearing bottom edge at 12 which rests on the subflooring 13 that is nailed to joist 14. The tub portion is indicated at15 and along the side thereof opposite to the apron the tub has ahorizontally disposed flange 16 provided with a beaded edge 17. Theentire weight of the tub and its contents when in use is carried at thebottom edge 12 and the beaded edge 17, the bath tub being open at one orboth of its ends for plumbing attachments.

An L-shaped angle iron 20 having the vertical flange 21 thereofperforated as at 22 at intervals spaced approximately one inchthroughout its length engages the beaded tub edge 17 on the upper faceof the lower flange 23 in supporting relationship. The lower flange 23has rigidly secured thereto preferably as by welding, downwardlyextending thrust elements or rods 24 threaded at their lower end asindicated by the numeral 25. Turnbuckle numbers 26 are received on thethreaded portions 25 and in turn receive in their lower ends the upperends of a second set of thrust rods 27. Rods 27 are supported rigidlyand held upright in flanged feet or bases 28 fastened to a 2 x 4 footing3% that rests on the floor 13.

The angle iron 24 and footing 3i} rest against the wall studding 31 andthe wall plate or sole 32, respectively, and the turnbuckles have longshanks which telescope over the body of the thrust rods to maintain themin axial alignment against buckling under the end thrust weight bearingstrains to which they are subjected.

Although it is preferred to hold the angle iron against the studding 31by nails 33 driven loosely in place through the perforations 22, adevice shown in Fig. 3 may be used for the same pulpose which comprisesa bracket 40 secured to the side of the stud 31 by screws 41 and carriesa rod 42 hooked as at 43 through one of the perforations 22. In thisrelationship the rod 42 is drawn into position by a nut 44 threaded onthe top end of the rod 42 above the bracket 4t). This device enables themaking of last minute adjustments quite easily after the angle iron isleveled at the right height by the turnbuckles 26 after the tub has beenslipped into place, and again just prior to the installation of thetile.

Many of the advantages and results attained by the invention will bebetter appreciated from the description of the installation andoperation of the device. In this connection it will be understood thatthe rod and turnbuckle assemblies are of a length necessary to satisfythe normal height of conventional built-in tubs and although the rodsare shown of approximately equal length, it will be appreciated that theupper rod can be a bolt whose flat head makes it easy to attach to thelower flange by welding, whereas the lower rod will be rigidly supportedin the flange or footing 28 by a suitable silver soldering or brazing.

Installation and operation The first step is to nail the footing 30 inplace on the floor as shown with the flanges 28 located on the footingin approximately the positions illustrated. Thereafter the expectedheight of the bead edge of the tub is roughly attained by preliminaryadjustment of the turnbuckles which also level the angle iron 20lengthwise. The tub 10 is then lifted and slid into place with thebeaded edge 17 resting on the flange 23. Thereafter the turnbuckles areturned in the same direction the same number of turns to pick up theweight of the tub and level it crosswise as well as lengthwise inrelationship to the floor 13.

Once leveled, the apron 11 of the tub is cleated in place on the outsidethereof to hold it in correct position until the floor tile can be laidagainst it. The angle iron is nailed lightly in place to prevent it frommoving away from the wall, yet permitting the weight to remain upon theturnbuckle and thrust rod assemblies. Thereafter the plumbing, the walltile and the floor tile are installed.

When in use it will be noted that preferably the thrust rods 24 arespaced from the ends of the angle iron about sixteen inches, yet theangle iron runs substantially the full length of the tub. The tub beingof cast metal, the beaded edge is not always straight. If one end of thebeaded edge is lower it would have a tendency to tilt the leveled angleiron, but since the thrust rods are so constructed that they serve alsoas tension rods, this cocking or tilting of the angle iron is prevented.One end of the angle iron cannot be forced upwardly by a superior orlocalized weight at the opposite end beyond the turnbuckle assembly atthat end. Moreover, the nails also prevent end-wise movement of theangle iron during the time the tub is slid into place, whereas thelength of the angle iron resting against a plurality of studding memberson one side and being held against sidewise movement by the heads of thenails on the other side prevents lateral movement of the angle iron.

Due to the weight of the tub and its contents in use and also thegenerally green condition of lumber used in home building, if the weightof a tub is localized in limited areas, the lumber would permitdepressions at these points as it seasons over the years, particularlyif the support points were irregularities in the lower edge of thebeaded edge, and the end result would follow that throughout the yearsthe tub would settle away from the tiling more and more and causewidening cracks and unsightly conditions.

Such things are eliminated in the present invention because the flangeshave extensive weight transmitting areas and the 2 X 4 footingdistributes the Weight it supports widely over the floor so that as anadditional result the effect of a weakening or buckling floor at anyparticular point will not drop the tub support assembly and permit acrack to occur.

Moreover, in view of the fact that the Walls are not closed inimmediately after the tub is set and there will be some drying of thelumber taking place before tiling is installed, the tub can be given afinal adjustment and leveling just prior to tiling, particularly if thedevice shown in Fig. 3 is used. Also it is to be noted that since theWall sole 32 and footing 30 ride together side by side 4 over the samearea of the floor, any settling of the floor will not change therelative position of the wall tile and the tub and cracks will beprevented.

It is also to be noted that some deflection is permitted in the angleiron at the time that the tub is originally installed so that there isretained in the present device some of the advantages that haveheretofore been claimed for devices that support the tub atpredetermined points. This slight deflection does accommodate thedeviations from a straight line of a beaded edge which are experiencedin cast iron tubs.

Consequently, having thus described the invention and the preferred formthereof with certain results attained thereby along with the advantagesthereof, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious and further modifications can be made without departing from thespirit of the invention, the scope of which is commensurate with theappended claim.

What is claimed is:

The combination of a bath tub having a horizontally disposed flange nearits top along one side, an angle iron engaging said flange in supportingrelationship, parallel pairs of coaxial vertically disposed thrust rodmembers and turnbuckle elements interconnecting them welded at one oftheir ends to the angle iron perpendicular to an outside face of one ofthe sides thereof and at their other ends welded to a horizontallydisposed element that is secured to a supporting floor for transmittingthe Weight upon theangle iron to the floor, the other side of said angleiron having holes therethrough and means engaging said angle iron forsupporting same against lateral movement including a supporting bracketand an elongated tie member interconnecting the angle iron and bracket,said tie member having one end engaging in one of said holes and theother received through said bracket and free to move upwardly withrespect to the bracket, and an adjustable element for supporting saidother end of the bracket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS835,835 Schumacher Nov. 13, 1906 1,615,881 Lucke Feb. 1, 1927 1,920,513Lucke Aug. 1, 1933 2,013,720 Thompson Sept. 10, 1935 2,102,082 LuckeDec. 14, 1937

